Combined tray-stand and napkin-receptacle.



No. 677,545. Patented July 2, l90l.

w. H. JOHNSON.

COMBINED TRAY STAND AND NAPKIN RECEPTACLE.

(Application filed Oct. 16, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. JOHNSON, OF ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY.

COMBINED TRAY-STAND AND NAPKlN-RECEPTACLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 677,545, dated July 2, 1901.

Application filed October 16, 1900. Serial No. 33,244. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlantic City, in the county of Atlantic and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Combined Tray-Stand and Napkin-Receptacle, 'of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in combined tray stands and napkin-receptacles.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of tray-stands and to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive one designed for use in hotels, dining-rooms, restaurants, and analogous places and adapted to form a support for a tray and a receptacle for soiled napkins and capable of being compactly folded to enable it to be arranged out of the way when not in use and also to facilitate shipping and storing.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure is a side elevation of a combined tray-stand and napkin-receptacle constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating the arrangement of parts when the device is in use. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the parts folded. Fig. 5 is a detail View illustrating the manner of connecting the upper ends of the-legs and of supporting the folding connecting-bars. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the bracket, which forms a guide for the foldable connecting-bar. Fig. 7 is a detail view illustrating the manner of mou nting the upper pintles of the receptacle. Fig. 8 is a detail view illustrating the manner of supporting the lower pintles.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlngs.

1 designates a collapsible receptacle approximately rectangular in cross-section and having its front 2 and back 3 connected by flexible top, bottom, and sides to enable the receptacle to collapse. The said top, bottom, and sides, which may be constructed of any suitable material, are preferably waterproof and are arranged to fold or collapse similar to a bellows. The front and back are preferably provided with frames composed of side bars and top connecting-bars and having the material of which the receptacle is constructed tacked or otherwise secured to them. The top is provided with a collapsible door 4, preferably of greater width than the opening 5,-and provided with a suitable fastening-device, preferably consisting of a hook and eye, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3, for securing it in its closed position. The front of the receptacle is provided with an opening 7,

through which soiled napkins are introduced pushed inward and opened to permit napkins to be placed in the receptacle. The springs will automatically close the door 7 when the pressure for opening the latter is removed from the same.

The deviceis provided with upper and lower side bars 8 and 9, arranged horizontally, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, and the said receptacle is supported by inclined legs 10, arranged in pairs and connected at their upper ends by hinges 11. The upper ends of the legs are provided with tips or pieces 12, of rubber or other suitable material, and the top bars, which extend across the front and back of the receptacle, are provided with similar pieces 12. The upper side bars 8 are provided with similar tips or pieces 12*, of rubber, and these pieces of rubber are adapted to prevent a tray from slipping.

The lower horizontal bars 9, which are composed of two sections, are connected at their ends with the side bars 1 of the receptacle by pivots or pintles 13, arranged as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 8 of the accompanying drawings, and pivotally connecting the legs 10 with the bottom of the receptacle. The pivots or pintles 13 preferably consist of bolts which pass through metal plates or pieces 13 and 13 The metal piece or plate 13, which is approximately U-shaped and which is preferably constructed of brass, caps the lower end of each of the side bars 1, and the other plate or piece 13 is L-shaped and is secured to the inner faces of the legs and to the upper faces of the cross-pieces 10, which connect the legs at the front and back of the receptacle. The bolt passes through the sidesof the metallic cap-pieces 13 and through the side bars 1 and secures the former to the latter. The pivots 13, which project laterally from the front and back of the receptacle at the bottom thereof, permit the sections 14 of the lower side bars 9 to swing upward for folding the device, and the inner ends of the sections 14 are connected by a hinge 15. The pintle 16 of the hinge 15 is extended through an eye 17 of the lower end of a vertical connecting-bar 18, which is connected at its upper end with the top bar 8.

The top bar 8 is composed of inner and outer sections 20 and 21. The inner ends of the inner sections 20 are connected at their lower edges by a hinge 22, and the adjacent ends of the inner and outer sections are connected by hinges 23. The hinges 23, which when the parts are arranged as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings have vertical pintles, are composed of leaves or plates arranged in pairs and extending longitudinally of the sections 20 and 21 and located at the side edges thereof; but they may, if desired, be arranged in kerfs of the sections to offset them from the edges thereof. The outer sections 2l, which are extended, are secured to the receptacle by means of horizontal pivots or pintles 2t extending laterally from the upper ends'of the bars 1 and rigid with L-shaped plates 24:, which are secured a /to't'lre upper ends of the bars 1, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

The pintle of the hinge 22 of the inner ends of the inner sections 20 is horizontal when the parts are arranged as shown in Fig. 1, and the pintles of the hinges 23 at the adjacent ends of the sections 20 and 21 are then vertical. In folding the device, which operation is effected by lifting the inner sections of the upper side bars, the upper side bar 8 is adapted to break at its center, the sections swinging on the horizontal pivots or pintles 24, which permit the sections of the upper side bars to fold together. After the upper side bars have been folded in this manner, which brings the sections to a vertical position, the inner sections '20 are adapted to swing downward and inward and fold upon the top of the receptacle,'as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the hinges 23 permitting this operation. The outer sections 21 remain in a vertical position, and the sections of the lower side bars, which are folded effected by raising the inner sections of the up-' per side bars.

The pintle 25 of the hinge 22 is extended and passes through an opening of the upper end of the connecting-bar, and it forms a pivot for the same. The connecting-bar 18 is provided near its upper end with a hingejoint 26, corresponding with the hinges 23 of the top bar 8, when the inner sections thereof are in a verticalposition and adapted to permit the said inner sections to fold downward upon the top of the receptacle, as before explained. The inner ends of the inner sections are supported when in a horizontal position by means of a bracket 30, consisting of Vertical plates 31 and horizontal arms 32. The vertical plate 31 is provided with a perforation 33 for the reception of the pintle of the hinge which connects the upper ends of the legs, and it is also connected with the legs by means of suitable fastening devices 35, consisting, preferably, of screws and passing through slots 36, formed in the plates to permit the opening and closing movement of the legs. The horizontal plate or arm 32, which forms a shelf to receive the inner ends of the inner sections of the upper side bar, is provided with an opening 37, through which passes the connecting-bar, which is provided at its upper end with a head consisting of horizontal projecting arms 38, arranged to rest upon the shelf when the parts are in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings. The device is readily arranged for use by swinging the sections 20 upward and opening the legs, which operation brings the parts to the position shown in Fig. 1.

The legs are provided between their ends with handles or grips 27 to facilitate opening, closing, and carrying the combined traystand and napkin-receptacle, which may be readily moved from one part of a house to another. The front of the receptacle is provided at its top with a horizontally-disposed approximately U -shaped support 28, adapted for supporting towels for the use of waiters, and the bottom of the device is provided with hooks 39, preferably mounted on the legs and adapted for supporting empty trays.

The device is adapted to be constructed of a variety of materials and may be manufactured to correspond with the furniture and trimmings of the place where it is to be used.

It will be seen that the combined tray-stand and napkin-receptacle is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that it is adapted to form a support for a tray both 'of. It will also be apparent that the device may be compactly folded when it is not in use and that when it is folded the receptacle collapses and the upper and lower side bars fold at the edges thereof. Furthermore, it will be apparent that the napkins may be readily introduced into the receptacle at the front thereof and that they may be quickly discharged or emptied therefrom through the opening at the top.

What is claimed is- 1. A device of the class described comprising a collapsible receptacle, folding top bars connected with the receptacle, folding bottom bars, and the folding legs, substantially as described.

2. A device of the class described comprising a collapsible receptacle, the folding top and bottom bars composed of hinged sections and pivotally connected with the receptacle, and the folding legs hinged at their upper ends and pivotally connected near their lower ends with the receptacle, substantially as described.

3. A device of the class described comprising a collapsible receptacle, the folding top and bottom bars, the folding connecting-bars pivoted to the top and. bottom bars, and the folding legs, substantially as described.

4. A device of the class described comprising a receptacle, the upper and lower side bars pivotally connected with the receptacle, the top bars being composed of inner and outer sections hinged together and adapted to fold to a vertical position and capable of swinging downward to arrange the inner sec tions upon the top of the receptacle, and legs, substantially as described.

5. A device of the class described comprising a receptacle, the upper side bars composed of inner and outer sections hinged together, the outer section being pivoted to the receptacle, the lower side bars composed of sections hinged together and pivotally connected with the receptacle, the connectingbars pivotally connected with the upper and lower side bars and provided between their ends with joints, wherebythey are adapted to fold with the inner sections of the upper side bars, and legs, substantially as described.

6. A device of the class described comprising a receptacle, the folding upper side bars pivoted to the receptacle and composed of inner and outer sections hinged together, the lower side bars pivoted to the receptacle and composed of hinged sections, the folding connecting-bars extending from the upper side bars to the lower ones, and the folding legs pivoted to the receptacle at the outer ends of the sections of the bottom bars and hinged at their upper ends, substantially as described.

7. A device of the class described comprising a receptacle composed of the front provided with an opening, the back, the flexible top, bottom and sides connecting the front and back, the top being provided with an opening and having a door for covering the same, the folding top and bottom bars connected to the receptacle, and the legs sup porting the receptacle, substantially as described.

8. A device of the class described compris.-'

ing a receptacle, the folding upper and lower side bars pivotally connected with the receptacle, the hinged legs connected at their u pper ends and pivoted near their lower ends to the receptacle, the folding bars connecting the upper and lower side bars, and the bracket carried by the legs and arranged to support the upper side bar, substantially as described.

9. A device of the class described comprising a receptacle, the folding upper and lower side bars connected with the receptacle, the hinged legs also connected with the receptacle, the folding connectingbars extending from the lower side bar to the upper side bar, and the bracket mounted on the legs and forming a support for the upper side bar and serving as a guide for the connecting-bar, substantially as described.

10. A device of the class described comprising a receptacle, the folding upper and lower side bars connected with the receptacle, the hinged legs, the folding connecting-bar extending from the lower side bar to the upperside bar, and the approximately L-shaped bracket supported by the legs and arranged to receive the upper side bar and provided with an opening for the connecting-bar, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. JOHNSON.

lVitnesses: ROBERT BARRow, THOMAS H. LEE. 

